The information found within the collection comes in many forms and present many ways
of dealing with the issues. There are programs, projects, workshops and surveys. The
issues are presented in correspondence, ordinances, public hearings, newspaper
clippings and committee minutes. There are files on affirmative action, war on
prejudice, women owned businesses and hate/violence. The minority files include
those issues involving gays/lesbians and the homeless. The teen files include files
on Milwaukee Blue Ribbon TAPP (an organized program against teenage pregnancies),
Youth Fest and Teen Hire.
The files touch on most of the racial problems faced in the City of Milwaukee. There
are files on the conflict between the neighbors of the Concordia College and the
Milwaukee Indian Community School. Other files deal with issues involving Hispanics,
Hmong, Arabs and African-Americans. The largest collection of files concerns the Dr.
Martin Luther King Birthday celebration. The files include correspondence,
publicity, news releases and newspaper clippings. These records also document all of
the planning that goes into making such a large undertaking successful.
Many of the files contain information about the involvement of other agencies in
developing human relations such as the City Service Commission and NAPCRO (National
Association of Police-Community Relations Officers). Other files contain copies of
ordinances passed concerning human relations or letters advising governmental
officials not to pass an ordinance because of poor wording. Some of the files
contain published information dealing with human relations that had been created by
or for the Commission. Each file reflects a conflict that needed to be resolved.
